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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. band — a ring
  3. land — a country
  4. scale — size or range
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. press — newspapers
  8. swing — in golf
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. band — a music group
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. press — a publisher
  16. scale — in music
  17. swing — to play on
  18. land — to come down
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. kid — child
  21. land — ground
  22. swing — music
  23. press — to push
  24. stem — a stem cell

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com